Havasupai: Day 3

All good things must come to an end. In this case, it was not just our incredible weekend. You see, this trip was just a few weeks before Jess and Sarah moved to Germany. They are only going for two years, but they are planning on starting a family while they are there. Justin and Sil are already expecting. And Rod and I have talked about it. The whole weekend we were planning our next trip, but we all knew that next time will be different. This was truly an end of an era. It was so bittersweet.

Four hard cores headed out early to hike to the rim. The rest of us decided to spend the day playing in the waterfalls and riding the helicopter out. In the beginning we had the waterfall all to ourselves. When the sun came out enough, I decided to explore around the falls and found a way to get behind it. The sunlight behind the falls was incredible, dancing everywhere. Once we started jumping, the crowds gathered and our courage grew. Before we knew it, we moved from behind the falls to on top of them.

Justin was nice enough to run ahead and put our names on the waiting list for the helicopter. What little time we had to wait, we spent eating indian fry bread in the cafe and getting ice cream sandwiches from the store. The ride was short, but incredible.

At the top, we said our goodbyes and started the long trek home. We passed the Hoover Dam just in time for sunset and cruised into Vegas in time to catch a late dinner.



After passing a bad Lady Gaga impression, we decided to call it a night. We were exhausted! The next morning, I got up early to enjoy a bloody mary by the pool. We used the last of my quarters on video poker and hit up two Vegas essentials--Trader Joe's and In-n-Out Burger--before heading home.

Havasupai: Day 2

It was a long night, sleeping in the bottom of a slot canyon while the thunder echoed down the canyon and the rain filled our dreams with floods.

The next morning we headed to Mooney Falls.

The hike down was a bit treacherous, but well worth it. We spent the day hiking down river and playing in whatever waterfalls we could find.

Although we never made it to our destination (Beaver Falls), the journey was so beautiful we didn't mind.

Havasupai: Good Times and the End of an Era

Our Labor Day weekend was bittersweet. It was one of the most fun long weekends I have ever had, but it was also one of the last weekends we had with our good friends, Sarah and Jess, before they move to Germany.

Sarah is seriously amazing. Despite the fact that she had been packing up her entire life and figuring out how to ship it to Germany, she still managed to plan the perfect weekend. It started with a 12-hour drive from SLC to Havasupai. We broke things up a bit by stopping for breakfast in Utah County, where we encountered the most convenient flat tire ever. We stopped for breakfast, noticed that Sarah's tire was flat, they took it to the service station while we ordered breakfast for them, they arrived just in time for breakfast, and we picked the truck up as soon as we were finished eating and headed on our way.

We followed Sil's prego nose to Carl's Junior in Las Vegas for lunch, after which the girls piled in one car (with our mixed fountain drinks) and the boys piled in another. We had a brief stopover at in Henderson, gambling and trying unsuccessfuly to get a helicopter ride, and Rod gave us an insider's tour of the Hoover Dam. The girls took advantage of an unexpected detour to spend all of the their quarters and shop for Sarah's new car. We rocked out the whole way down Route 66 until we picked up Fry Bread and stew at the lodge.

We made it to Havasupai well after dark. We weren't too disappointed, though. The camping area was basically a parking lot. Rod and I slept in the back of the 4Runner. It was hot, but the drone of the mosquitoes in our ears forced us to close the door and windows.

The next morning we started the long, hot hike to the campground. Sarah outfitted us all with more jerky and trail mix than we could have eaten in a month. It wouldn't have been a bad hike (all downhill or flat), but it was unbearably hot. By the time we made it to the Village, all I wanted was a cold soda. There were still two miles until we made it to camp. By this time, I was really wishing we had caught a ride on one of the mail donkeys that kept passing us. Yes, the tribe still receives their mail by donkey.

When we made it to the campground, it was all worth it. I did not know that places like Havasupai Falls even existed. Words and even photos can't do it justice. The limestone in the water makes the water an milky aqua color. That water in contrast with the red rock walls shaped like petrified waterfalls was unbelievable.